Jessica Sousa (she/her) is a senior policy analyst at RAND. As a public health social worker, her research contributions have centered on telehealth implementation, behavioral health care, health equity, and patient experiences with care. She has over a decade of experience in using qualitative and mixed-method approaches to data collection and analysis, including through conducting surveys, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups with patients, service members, providers, and health care leaders. In recent years, she has partnered with RAND colleagues on a number of studies of patient and provider experiences with telebehavioral health and other digital health technologies, both in civilian and military settings. Sousa has also served as project manager on several complex projects culminating in deliverables submitted to federal sponsors in support of reports to Congress: one to evaluate telementoring activities designed to build the capacity of primary care providers in rural and underserved settings, and another to assess federal investments in health services and primary care research. Her research interests include telehealth policy and implementation, patient experiences with telehealth and behavioral health care, strategies to promote health equity and reduce health care disparities, and interventions to address social determinants of health such as racism and poverty.
Sousa holds dual Master's degrees in clinical social work and health policy and management from Boston University and a Bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
M.S.W. in social work, Boston University; M.P.H. in health service management, Boston University; B.A. in psychology, University of Pennsylvania
